Free Republic

Margarito Origel has finished serving time in prison for his role in the beating death of Megan Mendez, a preschooler who authorities found buried in his south Modesto back yard four years ago. Now Origel wants to stay in the United States. But he is not a citizen, and, as a convicted felon, he is subject to deportation to his native Mexico.

Dr Gregory Jackson (Doctor-Lawyer) went to the judge Monday, complained they wanted to rush to a verdict and not look at the evidence. That was the cause of the mysterious "open mind" speech to the jury from the judge. He returned to the judge on Wednesday, claimed the jury wanted to reach a judgement to please the community, claimed they were into book deals and felt they wouldn't be as marketable and other jurors had threatened him and asked to be relieved because he felt he could be coerced into choosing guilty and could no longer be part of the...

Lisa and Albert Darmousseh of Turlock may have a little piece of Mars in their backyard. At least they hope so. Lisa Darmousseh was watching the Olympics Monday just before midnight when she heard a thud in her backyard. She went out to investigate but didn't see anything. The next afternoon, she noticed divots in the backyard and what looked like several mushrooms or dog droppings. Her husband tried to pick one up with a paper towel and said it still felt hot. "When we saw it at 5:30 or so, the smoke was still coming out of this one,"...

Christian Author & Political Activist to Share His Abortion Survivor Story and Discuss the Terri Schiavo Case Chris Hansen from Modesto will be the Guest Speaker at Central Valley Right to Life (CVRTL) meeting this Thursday, June 24, 7 p.m., at Carrows Restaurant meeting room, Blackstone near Ashlan, 4280 N. Blackstone Ave. in Fresno. Chris will be sharing his personal abortion survivor story. When Chris’ mother was pregnant with him, Chris’ father tried his best to force her to have an abortion. Chris says, "My blindness doesn’t slow me down much and through Christian love I have been able...

In recognition of our fallen Military comrades, The Modesto Support Our Troops Committee invites you to join us at the corner of Sisk and Standiford for a Candlelight Vigil honoring these heroes. Assembly time will be May 29th from 6:30 to 7:30 with an honors ceremony beginning at 7:45. This event will end at 9:30. We hope you can attend this event. For further information, please contact Larry Anderson at 209/ 545-8724.

<p>2:48 p.m. PST: REDWOOD CITY - Prospective jurors in Scott Peterson’s trial won’t be asked if they’ve had extramarital affairs, Judge Alfred Delucchi assured the first 98 candidates this morning.</p> <p>“I doubt if anybody would ever answer that question honestly,” the judge said, adding, “I’m not saying that I ever had an affair.” A man among the potential jurors laughed heartily, as did many others in the crowded courtroom.</p>

College Co-Eds Say Gathering Information Was Too Hard POSTED: 10:13 AM PST January 9, 2004 LOS ANGELES -- When Stanislaus County Judge Al Girolami needed to decide whether to move the Scott Peterson capital murder trial out of Modesto, one of the things he considered was a 10-county survey of biases related to the case. Now several of the students who gathered the data for the report under the guidance of a California State University, Stanislaus professor admit they made up a lot of the answers. They say it was just too hard to gather the info. About 65 students...

MODESTO, Calif. - A judge ruled Thursday that accused murderer Scott Peterson (news - web sites) cannot get a fair trial in his dead wife's hometown and ordered the case moved out of the county. Judge Al Girolami said extensive news coverage of the case, including 8,000 articles published worldwide and more than 150 stories in the local newspaper alone, swayed him to agree with the defense that the trial should not be held in Modesto. He did not immediately say where the trial would be held. "A change of venue is necessary to protect the integrity of the proceeding,"...

Scott Peterson's defense team Tuesday briefed two forensic experts on a statanic cult theory, including paintings and artwork near San Francisco Bay and an experiment showing that the pregnant Laci Peterson's body could have been placed in the water at the art site. Attorney Matt Dalton, using a laptop computer, showed artwork that he said depicted ritualistic killings and occult practices, and said the artwork could be found near the end of a peninsula in the bay. Dalton also said that the defense team placed weighted flotation devices in the water at the end of the peninsula, and they ended...

AP FRESNO, Calif. — The wife of former Rep. Gary Condit has settled her $10 million libel suit against the National Enquirer over a story that said she berated Chandra Levy days before the Washington intern disappeared. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The settlement was reached Wednesday. The lawsuit was brought over an Aug. 7, 2001, article that cited confidential police sources as saying Carolyn Condit "flew into a rage" during a telephone conversation with Levy. Carolyn Condit said she never spoke with or met Levy, whose skeletal remains were found in a Washington park in May...

<p>A year ago, 18-year-old Kristina McKibben made waves at a Modesto City Schools Board of Education meeting by asking for wider classroom debate on teen pregnancy. She said health teachers at Modesto High School took a tight-lipped approach when controversial issues came up and devoted only a week of their semester-long classes to human sexuality and AIDS education.</p>

<p>A Modesto, Calif., judge ruled Tuesday that search warrants and other documents related to Scott Peterson's (search) arrest on murder charges remain sealed for now and that tape recordings of 69 Peterson phone calls be turned over to defense attorney Mark Geragos (search).</p>

Sunny skies with mild winds were the order of the day as fifteen patriots gathered to rally the citizens of Modesto, CA to Support Our Troops. The blowing winds kept all the flags of the Armed Forces and Old Glory flowing for all to see. Moms and Dads shared the news that "My daughter is home" or "My son is home." And while we all shared in their joy, still others have sons and daughters still in harm's way. One of our moms shared that she doesn't know where her son is located - only that her Marine is deployed...

<p>Scott Peterson's defense team says they have found the mystery woman who can provide information about the real killers of the California murder suspect's 8-months-pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn child.</p> <p>The sources told Fox News they're working to transport the woman to a safe location because they fear retaliation against her if her identity is revealed.</p>

<p>RICHMOND, Calif. — Law enforcement agencies continued searching the San Francisco Bay Sunday because prosecutors are "desperate" to find more evidence in support of their theory that Scott Peterson (search) killed his wife Laci, a source close to the investigation has told Fox News.</p>

Hello everyone: Since DiverDave has not been able to attend our rallies on both April 26th and May 3rd, I thought I would let everyone know how things went. April 26th rally was a beautiful day. It was warm and sunny. We had the corner decorated with all our flags, yellow ribbons on stands, patriotic pinwheels and our God Bless America blanket (what a beautiful item this is). We only had about 23 participants on this day. They displayed signs showing pictures of their loved ones in Iraq. The horns were honking in support and we gave out red, white...

<p>Modesto police asked the public for help Tuesday in finding a 13-year-old girl who may have been abducted from her aunt's house.</p> <p>Maria Rodriguez disappeared between midnight and 4 a.m. Tuesday -- also missing was her aunt's friend, Regino Bautista, a man in his 40s who was staying at the house while his car was being repaired, according to Modesto Sgt. Chris Fuzie.</p>

The Tale of the Peterson Tapes Evidence piles up against Scott Peterson NEWSWEEK May 5 issue — As Scott Peterson sits in a Modesto, Calif., jail facing a death-penalty case for murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child, he can ponder that old adage, hell hath no fury... Bad enough that the other woman in Peterson’s life, massage therapist Amber Frey, informed police after Laci went missing Christmas Eve that she was having an affair with Scott. Now, a private investigator close to the Frey family says Frey was taping her phone calls with Scott in the weeks after...

<p>MODESTO, Calif. - When Scott Peterson (news - web sites) is arraigned on two charges of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn child Monday afternoon, authorities will most likely seek the death penalty, Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton said.</p> <p>"It's hard for me to realistically believe it is anything but a death penalty case at this time," Brazelton told ABC News.</p> <p>Arrested because detectives feared he might try to flee the country, a jailed Peterson waited quietly and courteously for his arraignment.</p>